Goalpara ) is a city and the district headquarters of Goalpara district,

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, India. It is situated to the west of

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Etymology

The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or "the village of the milk men" (

Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...

). In local dialect, "para" means village.

Geography

Goalpara is located on the bank of the river

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...

. It has an average elevation of 35 metres (114 feet). Hulukanda Hill, located at the heart of Goalpara on the bank of the Brahmaputra River, is one of the natural scenic views in the town, with various kinds of waterfowl and monkeys. There are some other bodies of water, such as Hashila Beel, Kumri Beel, and Urpad Beel. The Urpad Beel becomes the centre of migratory birds during Oct-March. The evergreen forests on low hills create an undulating landscape. Goalpara district consists of 8 blocks: *Balijana *Jaleswar *Kharmuza *Krishnai *Kuchdhowa *Lakhipur *Matia *Rangjuli

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Goalpara had a total population of 53,430, of which 26,970 were males and 26,460 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 6,125. The total number of literates in Goalpara was 39,627 which constituted 74.2% of the population with male literacy of 77.1% and female literacy of 71.2%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Goalpara was 83.8%, of which male literacy rate was 87.3% and female literacy rate was 80.2%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 6,158 and 1,702 respectively. Goalpara had 11,617 households in 2011.

Religion

The largest religious group in the town are Muslims constituting 53.65% of the population. Hindus make up 44.99% and 1.36% are others.

Languages

Assamese is the official language of the district and is spoken by 47.9% of the population, while Bengali is spoken by 46.8% and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

spoken by 3.6%, and 1.7% Bodo and other languages as per 2011 census. The Goalpariya is the most commonly spoken dialect of Assamese in the town.

Education

Some of the major educational institutions are:

Schools

* Sainik School, Goalpara * Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Goalpara

Colleges

* Goalpara College, Goalpara * Dudhnoi College, Dudhnoi, Goalpara * Bikali College, Dhupdhara, Goalpara
Goalpara Law College
Bhalukdubi, Goalpara Ruins of ancient site in Goalpara

Politics

Goalpara district consists of four assembly constituencies which are Goalpara East, Goalpara West, Jaleshwar and Dudhnoi. Goalpara town is under Goalpara East constituency, the current MLA is AK Rasheed Alam ( INC)

Notable people

* Abbas Uddin Ahmed, singer * Ashraful Haque, Bollywood actor *

Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...

, actor and theatre personality * Baharul Islam, actor and theatre personality * Birubala Rabha, Indian activist who campaigns against witchcraft and witch hunting * Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha, spiritual master * Jugal Kishore Choudhury, modernist architect * Leela Roy, Indian independence activist, Member of the Constituent Assembly

References

{{Assam Cities and towns in Goalpara district Dudhnoicollege.ac.in